14.2 The testbed systems
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14.2 The testbed systems
To ensure that all the databases were tested on a level playing field, the four PCs used were configured with identical hardware. The hardware for each of the machines is defined in Table 14.1.
| CPU: | Pentium III @ 500 MHz |
| Total RAM: | 256 MB |
| Operating System: | Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 5 |
To ensure that all of the machines were equal in the sense of performance capabilities, an independent performance assessment group ran a PC performance benchmark to validate each machine's performance specifications before the actual database benchmark tests were performed. The results are discussed in the next section.
14.2.1 PC performance assessment benchmark
The PC computer architecture performance test utilized is comprised of 22 individual benchmark tests that are available in six test suites. The six different test suites test for the following:
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Integer and floating-point mathematical operations
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Tests of standard two-dimensional graphical functions
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Reading, writing, and seeking within disk files
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Memory allocation and access
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Tests of the MMX (multimedia extensions) in newer CPUs
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A test of the DirectX 3D graphics system
The test results reported are shown as relative values. The larger the number the faster the computer. For example, a computer with a result of 40 can process roughly twice as much data as a computer with a result of 20. The Passmark rating is a weighted average of all the other test results and gives a single overall indication of the computer's performance. The bigger the number the faster the computer. The results we observed are shown in Table 14.2.
| Parameter Tested | Oracle System | Informix System | SQL System | DB2 System |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Math—Addition | 96.6 | 96.2 | 94.6 | 97.0 |
| Math—Subtraction | 96.4 | 97.1 | 96.2 | 97.6 |
| Math—Multiplication | 101.1 | 101.4 | 101.4 | 103.1 |
| Math—Division | 12.9 | 12.8 | 12.9 | 13.0 |
| Math—Floating-Point Addition | 87.7 | 87.8 | 87.6 | 88.7 |
| Math—Floating-Point Subtraction | 89.4 | 89.5 | 88.6 | 90.1 |
| Math—Floating-Point Multiplication | 91.7 | 91.7 | 90.9 | 92.3 |
| Math—Floating-Point Division | 14.8 | 14.8 | 14.8 | 14.9 |
| Math—Maximum Mega FLOPS | 171.2 | 172.2 | 170.7 | 177.6 |
| Graphics 2D—Lines | 17.5 | 17.6 | 17.5 | 17.8 |
| Graphics 2D—Bitmaps | 12.9 | 12.9 | 12.8 | 12.9 |
| Graphics 2D—Shapes | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 |
| Graphics 3D—Many Worlds | 22.9 | 23.0 | 22.9 | 22.9 |
| Memory—Allocated Small Blocks | 86.6 | 87.6 | 87.0 | 87.6 |
| Memory—Read Cached | 67.9 | 68.4 | 68.0 | 68.5 |
| Memory—Read Uncached | 48.7 | 48.8 | 50.0 | 49.1 |
| Memory—Write | 40.8 | 41.1 | 40.9 | 41.4 |
| Disk—Sequential Read | 3.2 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 3.1 |
| Disk—Sequential Write | 2.9 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 2.9 |
| Disk—Random Seek | 1.2 | 2.3 | 3.6 | 2.1 |
| MMX—Addition | 97.7 | 94.5 | 97.8 | 99.4 |
| MMX—Subtraction | 92.3 | 98.2 | 93.3 | 96.0 |
| MMX—Multiplication | 97.8 | 97.5 | 96.9 | 99.1 |
| Math Mark | 75.6 | 75.8 | 75.2 | 76.8 |
| 2D Mark | 46.7 | 46.9 | 46.7 | 47.1 |
| Memory Mark | 58.7 | 59.2 | 59.2 | 59.4 |
| Disk Mark | 19.3 | 25.1 | 28.4 | 21.5 |
| 3D Graphics Mark | 15.5 | 15.7 | 15.5 | 15.6 |
| MMX Mark | 48.8 | 49.2 | 48.9 | 50.0 |
| Passmark Rating | 45.7 | 47.2 | 47.8 | 46.7 |
Assessment of results
The performance assessment test found that the computer system configured for the DB2 servers appeared to have better performance than the other systems in most of the tests. However, the Passmark rating (weighted average of all test results giving a single overall indication of performance) of the computer system configured for the SQL Server 2000 was the highest.
14.2.2 Burn-in test
The computer system hardware burn-in test is a thorough exercise of the hardware in a PC performed over a short period of time, in the same way as normal applications use a PC over a long period of time. The burn-in test assesses the following items:
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CPU
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Hard drives
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CD-ROMs
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Sound cards
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2D graphics
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3D graphics
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RAM
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Network connections and printers
Burn-in test assessment
From the results shown in Table 14.3, we can see that the SQL Server 2000's CPU speed is 0.1 MHz less than the other machines. This difference is not significant, unless the duration of performance assessment tests spans a long period of time. All other measurements indicated the four testbed machines were equivalent.
| System Information: | Informix | Oracle | DB2 | SQL Server |
| Operating System: | Win NT4 | Win NT4 | Win NT4 | Win NT4 |
| Number of CPUs: | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| CPU Manufacturer: | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel |
| CPU Type: | Celeron | Celeron | Celeron | Celeron |
| CPU Features: | MMX | MMX | MMX | MMX |
| CPU Serial #: | N/A or disabled | N/A or disabled | N/A or disabled | N/A or disabled |
| CPU1 Speed: | 501.3MHz | 501.3MHz | 501.3MHz | 501.2MHz |
| CPU Level 2 Cache: | 128 KB | 128 KB | 128 KB | 128 KB |
| RAM: | 267,821,056 Bytes (256 MB) | 267,821,056 Bytes (256 MB) | 267,821,056 Bytes (256 MB) | 267,821,056 Bytes (256 MB) |
| Color Depth: | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 |
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